


Five Times Jake Thought About his Future With Amy, and One Time he Decided to do Something About it

by DetLandro



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Jake Peralta Loves Amy Santiago, Love, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-13
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:28:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25863622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DetLandro/pseuds/DetLandro
Summary: Sometimes Jake thinks about spending his life with Amy.  Not like on purpose, it just kinda happens.
Relationships: Jake Peralta & Amy Santiago, Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago
Comments: 3
Kudos: 60





	Five Times Jake Thought About his Future With Amy, and One Time he Decided to do Something About it

_**1\. Marriage is Joy**_

When Jake had watched Captain Holt start his speech, he couldn't help a small smirk. There was no _way_ the robot captain could pull together a marriage ceremony with the heartfelt sentiment he knew Gina wanted. But the captain was able to give a great speech that felt truthfully from the heart, surprising Jake.

“Marriage is a contract. But, it’s so much more than that. Marriage is love. It’s commitment. It’s joy.”

Right now Holt was hitting Jake where it hurt. He was feeling so many conflicting emotions having been dumped not too long ago by Sophia, and then watching Jenny kiss another guy after planning for so long to get his slow dance. Love had been a sore spot for him recently. And also not so recently. It had always kind of been a sore spot. But who cares, right? After all, Gina’s mom and Charles’ dad had found love in their golden years. Maybe Jake could do _that._

He took a peek out of his left eye at Amy, who was looking at the altar with a gleam in her eye. Whether the gleam was from the love present at the occasion or the joy of being able to listen to the Captain speak for so long, Jake couldn’t tell.

_Joy._

That was what he felt today. Despite all the ups and downs with the ring and Minsk and Jenny, he still enjoyed today. And he owed that entirely to Amy. Being with her on cases, or at the bar, or sitting at a wedding that he didn’t particularly care about, that made him happy.

_She_ made him happy.

For a split second his imagination conjured up an image of Amy in white, and his eyes almost bugged out at the thought. He tried to get it out of his head. He had liked her, that was certain. And it was possible that he _still_ liked her just a _little._ But he didn’t _love_ her. He didn’t want to _marry_ her.

“It’s understanding. It’s patience. It’s anger. It’s reconciliation. It’s everything.”

Amy understood him, better than almost anyone. She was one of the few people he could show his more vulnerable side to, even if it wasn’t all that often. She had seen him at his very lowest, and at his very best. There was nothing he felt like he had to prove to her, and she didn’t have to prove anything to him. After all, he had willingly put her on his left side, not even bothering to show her his juicier tear duct. He didn’t need a juicy tear duct with her, he just needed himself, and that was great.

They were patient with each other. When cases took a while to crack they didn’t snap to blame the other. Sure they bickered, but they rarely got seriously pissed at each other, and if they did they were good at reconciling. A coffee cup placed on the desk and a simple apology and they would be solid again.

So what if maybe she brought him more joy than anyone? So what if maybe she could read him with a single glance? So what if maybe they could survive any difficulties that were thrown at them? So what if he was convinced she would look _beautiful_ in a white dress?

_Crap. Maybe he did want to marry Amy._

Ridiculous. Ludicrous. Preposterous. She was a great friend, but all the romantic stuff was in the past, so there was no point in daydreaming a future that couldn’t happen. The ceremony ended, and Jake cheered and clapped along with the rest of the guests. He looked again at Amy, who was applauding hard with a big grin on her face. She looked at him with that smile and his heart stuttered again in his chest. He allowed himself just a _little_ daydream. After all, he was such a good partner to Amy today.

And he guessed that he wouldn’t mind making a dope _husband_ to Amy one day.

_**2\. Something Special**_

“And I don’t care if I get demoted,” Jake looked at Amy and felt his heart lurch with a feeling he couldn’t name, “I just, care about being with you.”

_Forever._

The word was on the tip of his tongue, and in his surprise he almost blurted it out. Was that really how he felt? Yeah the six days they had spent together had been amazing, and waking up next to Amy already felt like second nature, but how could he apply such a permanent word to such a new relationship. His thoughts raced as he returned to his seat at the back of the bar. Amy had left after he had finished, so he plopped down and began quietly picking at the label on his beer. He could still hear her words in his head.

_”This is a six day relationship, we don’t know what it is.”_

It scared Jake. He couldn’t help but feel like she was going to slip away. Just like Sophia, who he had scared away by going too far too fast. He couldn’t be thinking too far ahead of himself by thinking stupid words like _forever._

But Amy wasn’t Sophia. Amy was Amy. Sure they had only been romantically involved for six days, but their feelings had started months, even years ago. And their partnership had strengthened their bond for over half a decade. Amy was incredible, she challenged him and made him feel good about himself and his place in the world. She knew him better than anyone, and he knew her. She was the best. She was the one.

_Damnit._

He did it again.

But in the back of his mind he knew his brain was right. Jake could handle being demoted. There were other jobs, but there was only one person who was right for him, and that was far more important. He got up to leave, to go find Amy. She was definitely going back to the precinct, and they had to talk.

He didn’t know how to move on from here. He wanted to be with her, but he didn’t want her to feel like she was holding him back. He didn’t have any more plans, but he had faith that it would all work out. He couldn’t handle not having Amy, not now that he knew what it was like.

He wasn’t letting go, now or ever.

_**3\. Long-Term Investment**_

“I’m sorry I didn’t do it sooner. I think I was just, scared that you were gonna realize you’re way better than me. Like, you’re Orangina and I’m orange soda.”

Amy gave him a smile and Jake knew he had made the right choice. They arrested their perp, and that night as he and Amy were cuddled on her couch Jake revisted the website, taking care to click the American flag this time. Jake looked down at Amy lying on his chest. She looked back up at him with encouragement in her eyes. He clicked Confirm Purchase.

A few days later it was delivered to Jake’s apartment, and they did, in fact, have to break it in.

_Mattress trampoliiiiiiine!_

_(And also sex)_

He lay wide awake that night, Amy curled into his side, and thought about what he had told her about why he didn’t want a new mattress. If he was being honest with himself, it wasn’t the entire truth, but the entire truth was too scary to voice yet.

It had come to him while he sat in the Captain’s office, while Holt gave him the metaphor about Kevin and Gertie. It had struck him first as funny that Holt was comparing his marriage to Jake and Amy’s relationship, when the thought slipped into Jake’s head:

_We wouldn’t need two mattresses if we were married._

He hadn’t been able to shake it since. And he kept going on in his head about thinking too far ahead, but the simple logic in the statement kept bringing it back to him. Even in the present, there were very few nights where they weren’t sharing a bed, so they basically already only needed one mattress. Plus if they moved in together, he would likely have to resell this one that he had just bought. And after that, they’d never stop living together - at least he hoped they wouldn’t.

Amy muttered into his shoulder in her sleep and he tilted his head to fit her into the crook of his neck, wishing with a smile she had been able to deal with his lumpy mattress until they were both ready to share a home. It was worth it though; she had said mattresses were an investment, but he knew that this mattress was only going to be with him for the short-term.

Jake’s only long-term investment in this room was currently drooling on his shirt.

_**4\. Jake and Amy and Baby Makes Three**_

“Is anyone going to buy it? I mean, do I _look_ pregnant?” 

Jake stepped closer to her and began playing with the fake baby bump. Looking up at Amy’s questioning face with his hands on her stomach, he felt a rush of love and a slight churning in his stomach. 

_One day we’ll do this for real._

He cautiously stepped away from Amy at Charles’ squeals of excitement. 

“I don’t know if I believe in God, but I have prayed for this,” the shorter detective said smiling. Jake rolled his eyes and they continued prepping for Amy’s undercover op. While Amy and Charles went over some of the details of how Amy needed to act to keep the pregnancy cover up, Jake watched with a distracted mind. Was that something that he wanted? Being a dad had always been his biggest fear, what if he screwed it up? His own childhood had scarred him for life, how could he be any good at something he’d never been on the receiving end of? 

“How’s this? Jake what do you think?” Amy’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts, and Jake watched her waddle over to him. Despite himself, he found that his mouth was curling into a smile as he grabbed her hands. 

“Looks great, babe.” 

Her smile beamed back at him and she turned back around to keep practicing. 

There was no question in Jake’s mind that if she wanted to, Amy would be a great mother. The thought that one day they could be parents together excited him, as his brain worked up an image of a little boy with curly hair and Amy’s eyes, and a little girl with glasses as big as her mom’s. How could he screw up anything that Amy made? She was perfect, and anything they did together would be perfect too. Yeah the idea of being a dad scared him, but when Amy looked at him, he knew that he would face every single one of his fears if he could do it with her at his side. 

It was a long way to go yet but, having that future with Amy might be something he could get behind. 

_**5\. Smiling at Mommy and Daddy**_

__“You play with those windows girls!” Amy instructed to Cagney and Lacey with determination in her voice._ _

__Jake laughed at the sudden turnaround after her earlier concern. It was almost too easy to let her let the twins have some fun. All it had taken for his girlfriend to change her tune was a little suggestion that playing with the windows could lead to a future interest in STEM._ _

_I wonder if it’ll be that easy to change her mind when it’s ours._

Probably not if he was being honest. And _while_ he was being honest, Boyle had kind of hit the nail right on the head earlier when he said that practice parenting was bringing up some thoughts about the future. Not for the first time, he wondered what it would be like to have kids with Amy. 

__Educational TV shows along with whatever cartoons Jake could convince her were worth it, sleepless nights taking care of a newborn, trips to Sal’s and to see the whole Santiago family for holidays, he could see all of it in his head._ _

__A small smile maneuvered its way onto his lips as he thought about Amy with their child in her arms. It still scared him, maybe even moreso after having to leave for Florida for six months (what if something like that happened and they had a kid to take care of?), but the idea that it would be a team effort with Amy was always enough to satisfy his worries._ _

__They would probably have very different parenting styles, but he knew that they would love their kid equally. As partners, just like always._ _

__“What are you smiling about weirdo?” Amy asked with a smirk from the passenger seat._ _

__Try as he might, he couldn’t wipe his grin off as he checked the rearview mirror to look at the twins in the backseat._ _

__“Nothing,” Jake answered._ _

__

_**6\. April 28th**_

__“There’s a typo in this crossword puzzle!”_ _

__Jake looked up from his phone and glanced over at Amy. He took in her frustrated and adorable expression and felt something click in his brain._ _

__He smiled._ _

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, kudos/comments are cool, you're cool


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